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The 6 days storm is done at last! Now we’re settling in for the cold stretch. It is -3F right now and tomorrow we may hit 0, but the rest of the week will be sub-zero highs. You know what that means? Tea! Excellent tea-drinking weather.

I made a pot of this (my go-to pot when it is just me is a 4-cup bubble pot from David’s Tea) using 3 tea bags. This time I got the creamy mint that I got last time, but also notes of anise/fennel/licorice came through. It was very nice. I am going to miss this tea when I finish it off. Not enough to rush out and buy more, but I may look for it next winter.

Wow, this is old. But it’s also a favorite and I wanted to celebrate so I made myself a cup of this. The flavor has suffered with age, but I still love it. I wish I could find a comparable cranberry pear tea. something with the zing of cranberry and the juicy sweetness of pear. Any suggestions?

I went to the oncologist today (in spite of it being day 5 of the winter storm and there were stretches where I couldn’t even see the road!) He told me that yes, there was a lesion, but it had not changed in size for the past year so he was not concerned about it right now. No further treatment needed for my stage 4 colorectal cancer. We will continue with blood work and scans every three months. But he told me to not worry about it; he wasn’t. So I get to enjoy Christmas and am even allowed to have a little wine!

Brought this one out tonight. I have about 40-45 grams of it left. I like it, but it does leave an oily residue on the cup and the teapot. That’s not enough to lose it points, just something to be aware of.

It brews up rather pale and cloudy. I like the creamy minty flavor. The ‘leaf’ (I put that in quotes because it is more than half additives) is very pretty and festive. A lovely holiday tea.

It is still snowing here and my parking lot has not been plowed in over 24 hours so no one is getting out or in. Cars have tried, and now they are stranded in the lot like scattered toys abandoned by a spoiled child. When they do come to plow i9t will be a nightmare. I am a little worried about getting to my oncology appointment tomorrow and may need to call an Uber.

Holy moly, I had a tablespoon of this left. I had it after supper. I was not wowed. I recall this wasn’t one of my faves from A Quarter 2 Tea. It was heavy on the tannins without any sweetness. I didn’t get any ginger from it either. It is quite old, so not too surprising.

It’s been snowing for around 36 hours so far and is expected to continue to snow through Friday. We’ve gotten 7 inches so far and may have another 10. Trying to be positive. So … Good tea drinking weather!

I made a pot of this last night to get me going for my writing session. I really like this tea. Really, it’s nothing spectacular, but I enjoy it. I am going to go out and buy some more right now, since I am almost out.

I usually make just a cup, but last night I made the pot and sipped out of a cup from my grandmother’s wedding china from 1919. The cup is so light and thin you can see through it. Since I’m afraid of breaking it I rarely use it, but last night I just needed a little something extra to perk me up. I got the CT scan results and I am afraid the cancer is not defeated, since a new lesion was noted. Now, that might not mean anything and I have to wait until I see the oncologist on Friday. But you see why I decided I needed a little something to perk me up. The combination of this tea, being one of my faves, and Nonna’s china made me happy.

This was a gift from a coworker. 12 bags of this tea in a decorative plastic container. It was lovely of her to do that for me. I had a cup last night and really enjoyed it. Like many rooibos teas, it brewed up very dark. The flavor was mild while it was hot but as it cooled the peppermint came out. There was also a faintly sweet note, which I assume was from the white chocolate. As I said, I really enjoyed it. I could see myself someday getting more of this.

On a personal note, I am back from my blood work and CT scan. I won’t have the results of the scan until I meet with my oncologist on Friday, but I have the blood work results. In June my CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen-which may measure cancer markers in the blood) was 7.3. Today it is 1.7, which is smack dab in the normal range. I know it is too early to rejoice, because the CT scan may show something, but I think the liver ablation treatment was successful. When I saw the result I actually teared up. I hadn’t realized how stressed I was by it until then.

I had this one tonight. It’s chilly here in Fargo (naturally) and to me, cold winter nights just beg for a spicy herbal tea to sip while knitting. I had lost this in my office for several and just found it today while cleaning. Oops. I guess that just goes to show what you can find when you actually clean!

Anyway. I brewed it up expecting to really love it. I do enjoy cardamon in chai and spicy tea. But this was not my cup of tea. Since there is such a small amount of tea in the bag I used a little tea cup with about 6 ounces of boiling water. I let it brew for 5 minutes. The color was pretty dark. The flavor was pretty pale. That is, I got a mild spicy flavor. It was underwhelming. And I was disappointed because I expected to love this one.

I’m glad the Republic of tea sent this one as a sample with my last order because I might have bought a whole tin of this based on the description. So I am really glad I got to try it. And it was not horrible. Maybe I should have let it steep longer. If a friend served this I could certainly drink it. But I won’t order this one.

Day 1 of my Vahdam tea advent calendar.

Actually, it’s not. Instead of having the teas individually packaged per day, there is just a bunch of wrapped teabags in a box. I chose this one because it is herbal and I have had enough caffeine today. Plus my tummy is a little unhappy from supper, so I thought the ginger would be good.

I do not know what the ingredients are. The packet says “Blend of warming ginger and roasted cocoa.” It brews up a little cloudy, which isn’t unusual for chocolate teas. My nose is completely clogged and so are my ears—the last hanger-on from the nasty cold/sinus infection/ear infection I picked up in mid-November—so I don’t taste much of this. I think I am getting a mild ginger heat. As it cooled I found myself enjoying it more. It has a sweetness that tastes natural (as opposed to Stevia) and that may be from the ginger and/or chocolate. I don’t really taste the chocolate though. Maybe if I had a sense of smell I could taste it.

As it is I am giving this tea a cautious recommendation. It will not go looking for it but I was able to drink the cup.

Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday I was obliged to call the friends who invited me to their thanksgiving and give them my regrets. Although I am marginally better I am far from well, and who wants someone who can’t breathe without coughing to sit next to them at a crowded table?

So I did make the apple pie I had intended to bring. I used the crescent roll dough to make ham and cheese roll ups. The apple pie turned out very well. It is very sweet, though (I add kraft caramels and walnuts to my apples), so I decided to pair it with a straight black tea. This tea is a bit bitter. Not a favorite at all. I managed to finish the cup, but I don’t think I would ever brew it up again, so it’s a good thing it is gone.

That was my Thanksgiving. And I am not complaining, because I am feeling better.